Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Tough Takes On The GOP’s Health Legislation Strategy: A New Level Of Cynicism; ‘A Tattered Band-Aid’

Opinion writers offer critiques of the GOP health plans, their strategies and how it could all play out for them in the next election.

The Washington Post:
Senate Republicans Take Cynicism To A Horrifying New Level
We are hurtling toward a health-care disaster in the next 36 hours or so, for the worst possible reason. Cynicism is seldom completely absent from the operation of politics, but this is truly a unique situation. Republicans are set to remake one-sixth of the American economy, threaten the economic and health security of every one of us and deprive tens of millions of people of health-care coverage, all with a bill they haven’t seen, couldn’t explain and don’t even bother to defend on its merits. (Paul Waldman, 7/24)

The Wall Street Journal:
Can Republicans Govern?
Mitch McConnell is scheduling another showdown vote in the Senate—the third attempt—as early as Tuesday on a motion to proceed to debate on health reform. Succeed or fail, the Republican Majority Leader is right to demand this moment of political accountability. (7/24)

The Wall Street Journal:
If Mitch McConnell Fails To Repeal Obamacare, He Should Blame Himself First
Few people in America rode into 2017 higher than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). After leading Republicans to the Senate majority in 2014 and blocking President Barack Obama from filling the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s Supreme Court seat, McConnell helped the GOP hold the Senate last fall to deliver the first unified Republican control of government in a decade. Just six months later, though, McConnell is staring at a dramatic reversal of fortunes, facing a full-blown rebellion among the Republican senators he leads and serious doubts about his leadership ability. (Adam Jentleson, 7/25)

The New York Times:
How The Health Bill Could Cost Senators In The Next Election
One of the health care bills under consideration by Republican leaders would take health insurance away from 32 million people over the next decade, creating a cohort of Americans who could be motivated to vote against senators who approved the measure. The Senate could vote as early as Tuesday, but it is not yet clear which of the two bills in contention that the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, intends to bring up. The plan that would leave 32 million without coverage would repeal some of the most important parts of the Affordable Care Act without any replacement. (Vickas Bajaj and Stuart A. Thompson, 7/24)

Los Angeles Times:
A Tattered Band-Aid: Senate GOP's $200-Billion Obamacare Cushion Would Run Out In Two Years
As Senate Republicans rush pell-mell toward a Tuesday vote on an Obamacare repeal bill that most, if not all, still haven’t seen, a new study examines one of the givebacks the GOP leadership has offered anti-repeal senators to bring them on board. The sweetener is a $200-billion fund for the 31 states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, to be paid out starting in 2022. Since the GOP bill would eliminate the Medicaid expansion, the ostensible idea is to help them cushion health insurance costs for those states and their Medicaid enrollees forced to transition to the ACA’s individual insurance exchanges. (Michael Hiltzik, 7/24)

The Washington Post:
Every Republican Health-Care Plan So Far Would Cause Great Harm To The Nation
The Senate has been deadlocked on repealing and replacing Obamacare all month, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Monday afternoon that the chamber would vote Tuesday on . . . well, on something. The scrambling reflected a basic fact: Every major Republican proposal put forward so far would mean millions of Americans would lose access to health care. Each plan would theoretically fulfill a GOP campaign promise while inflicting serious harm on the nation. (7/24)

Los Angeles Times:
Lessons From The GOP's Mostly Dead Healthcare Plan
Hill-watchers say the Republicans so badly need to pass something that they might just surprise everyone and pass … something today. Maybe. But whatever the Senate passes will not be an actual repeal of Obamacare, never mind an actual replacement. (It can’t be. Since Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [R-Ky.] and company can’t or won’t work with Democrats — and vice versa — they are trying to pass their bill using the budget reconciliation process, which is rather limited in scope, but only requires a simple majority.) And even if the miracle happens, the immensely unpopular legislation must then go to conference, and after that go back to both chambers for more voting. It will look less like sausage getting made and more like an elaborate, rolling, mortuary makeover. (Jonah Goldberg, 7/25)

USA Today:
GOP Health Bill Pits Freedom Of Choice Against Freedom From Fear
What is the health care debate all about? Freedom. Specifically two different conceptions of freedom. One is freedom to buy what you want. In this view, the country is a collection of 325 million individuals, and freedom is everyone pursuing their lives without interference. The other is freedom from worry. It views America as a community, and freedom is knowing you can get help when you are sick and in need. (Ezekiel J. Emanuel, 7/24)

The Kansas City Star:
Pat Roberts, Nancy Pelosi And Passing A Health Care Bill To Find Out What’s In It
Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran has been lavished with attention lately. Which is what happens when you buck your party to save Obamacare one day and the very next time the sun comes up, announce that you support a doomed GOP plan to kill the Affordable Care Act and replace it with nothing but hearty best wishes for all Americans. If Moran now sticks with his party after all and green-lights legislation he has said would hurt his constituents, he’s going to wish he hadn’t distinguished himself in the first place. (Melinda Henneberger, 7/24)

Arizona Republic:
John McCain Hands Gov. Doug Ducey His Health Care Vote
Until McCain’s tweet, [Doug] Ducey was nothing more than an observer in the health care debate going on in Washington. He could – if he chose to do so – complain about what senators might do in restructuring or abolishing the Affordable Care Act, but he would bear no measure of blame for their work. Now, he has a say. (EJ Montini, 7/24)

New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Health Care Speech Might Be Donald Trump's Most Cynical One Yet
Trump, certainly the most prolific prevaricator who has ever rested his head at the White House, says that the Democrats' promises regarding the Affordable Care Act all amount to a "big, fat lie."If the Republicans had presented anything to make it easier for those families Trump trotted out, then maybe it would be fair to accuse the Democrats of overselling the Affordable Care Act. But the Republicans aren't really offering much - if anything -- to help those who are struggling to pay their medical bills. (Jarvis DeBerry, 7/24)

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.